Upper School Division News: Dec. 19, 2024

December 19th 2024

By Mr. Chris Ames, Upper School Division Head

“Marley was dead, to begin with.” An odd opening line for a Christmas story, to be sure, but as many of you know, these are the first words in Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol. One of the primary messages of this classic piece of literature centers around a theme of redemption. Ebeneezer Scrooge is well known for being miserly, unfeeling, and full of disregard for those in need. By the end of the novella, Scrooge has undergone a long night of “teachable moments” and has been transformed into a compassionate and caring person with a passion for giving.

This has always been a wonderful story for the holidays (and in general) but it has the additional bonus of being relevant to our academic season. As we close out the first semester we might look back on a host of hits and misses, good grades and not so good, opportunities taken and some missed - life, in other words. The advent of a new semester brings with it a season of new beginnings and opportunities for redemption. We start classes in January with “tabula rasa”, a blank slate that has yet to be written upon, giving us the chance to change certain things, improve others, and attempt a few new ones along the way.

I hope the holidays afford you a time of rest and redemption and our students return to school with a fresh outlook on their academic journey. For our Seniors, January marks the last chapter in this part of their story with us and, we wish them and their families the best as they prepare for college and new adventures around the country!

Seasons Greetings from Upstairs,
Chris Ames